


You are the Moon

by gomicchi



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alien Biology, Established Relationship, Fluff and Mush, M/M, Other, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 10:57:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4826516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gomicchi/pseuds/gomicchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being solid is infinitely more complicated than Astral had anticipated it would be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You are the Moon

     Seeing and hearing Yuuma’s world is one thing but feeling it- smelling it, tasting it, running fingertips over it is something completely different. Astral feels his skin warm under the sun now, smells flowers and industry and sea salt when the winds change. He can rub every leaf between his fingers and note their subtle differences. Every living thing here has it’s own set of textures. Astral wants to experience everything but recently his body starts to drag after the sun goes down. He misses the stars that used to be such reliable company for him.

     The water is clear enough outside of Heartland that every fish, crab and bouquet of colorful kelp is visible from the shore. Astral dips his feet into the deep pool from off the edge of an elevated rocky shelf and wiggles his toes experimentally. He recently read somewhere that toes help with balance and while that seems reasonable enough he’s still having a hard time getting used to them.

     “They make it look so effortless but walking is quite tiring...” Astral informs the small pink fish that’s trying to nibble on his pinky toe. He smiles at the small creature, transfixed by its vibrancy, its habitat, its very being. The bright purple liquid which had began leaking from the bottom of his foot mixes with the water. It stings only slightly. The sensation of pain, he notes, is something he can easily tolerate.

     On the other side of the nearby hill Yuuma is setting up their camp with confidence and practiced ease that would make Kazuma proud. He insisted he could do it alone and for what might have been the first time since Astral became solid, encouraged his partner to explore a little on his own. The distance from their camp to the shore is the farthest Astral has walked without aid and even the fish seem impressed with his progress as he explains the situation to them.

     “Astral!” Yuuma’s voice disrupts the serenity but never seems out of place. In nature, in the middle of the city, among the stars- there’s nothing that comforts Astral quite like it.

     “What do you call these small ones,” Astral points to his pink companions as Yuuma reaches his side, “we are becoming fast friends...”

     Yuuma drops to his knees, pulls his jacket off and wraps it tightly around Astral’s naked shoulders.

     “What are you thinking- where are you clothes?!”

     “I thought it would be alright since we are beyond the limits of the city-”

     “Well, it’s not! I told you, Astral! Clothes. All the time now.”

     Astral pulls the jacket closer to his chest and looks back out to the water. Clothes are the worst thing about his new life. Nothing seems to fit him right. He feels trapped and confined and shamed somehow. Being solid is infinitely more complicated than he had anticipated.

     “Look… I- it’s nothing you did, Astral. It’s just…,” Yuuma puts his hands on Astral’s amrs and gives him a small squeeze as he searches for the right words, “You attract a lot of… Attention? And- um, it’s just a little easier if we try and have you blend in a bit, see? Or at least have you not, uh. Well, naked.”

A gentle breeze, a tired sigh.

     “I trust you. It is for the be- I trust you,” Astral replies simply. His blunt words, his slip of phrase make Yuuma tense and look down at his boots.

     “Maybe we can try to find you- Astral! What happened to your feet?!” It seems they can’t go five minutes without an emergency and Astral looks down at the water where the bright purple fades then disappears, wondering what he’s done this time.

     Yuuma climbs over on the rock they’re perched on and gently pulls Astral’s feet out of the water. The strange blood against his pale blue skin is stark and makes Yuuma’s stomach twist.

     “You took off the shoes I gave you before you came down here,” Yuuma breathes out while he takes inventory of the small cuts and scrapes covering the indigo soles of Astral’s feet.

     “I wanted to feel the rocks and sticks. Do you realize that the feeling in your feet is different than that from your fingers? It’s fascinating, Yuuma. I have also-oof-” Astral embraces a familiar feeling of weightlessness as Yuuma anchors one arm under his knees, one across his back and lifts him off the ground.

     “This is what I get for leaving you alone, I guess. Honestly for someone so smart you do some pretty stupid things.” Yuuma adjusts Astral in his arms and starts off towards their camp.

     It doesn’t cross Astral’s mind to complain as he settles into Yuuma’s arms and rests his cheek against his shoulder. Walking is very tiring after all.

  

* * *

 

     Yuuma pokes at the young fire, encouraging it with words, gestures and the same spirit with which he does everything. They are far enough away from Heartland that several prominent star clusters can be mapped with the naked eye. Astral sits in the same cushy seat that Yuuma deposited him in earlier (feet propped up and a warm blanket drawn around him) and holds his flashlight steady as he consults his star chart. He does his best to keep his distance from the fire having already been scolded once for trying to touch it.

     “They seem farther away than they used to.”

     “That’s probably because you’re closer to the ground, right?” Yuuma smiles with his hands on his hips as he proudly surveys the steadily growing fire.

     “Perhaps….” Astral smiles privately.

     “You know I have an app on my D-gazer for star gazing, right? Why’re you using that old thing?” Yuuma reaches his hand impulsively into the fire to readjust some falling logs. It must hurt at least a little judging by the way he quickly withdraws but the hand goes back in not a second later so Astral pays it no mind.

     “We found it in the attic, remember? It was when you were moving out. You were making a fuss about leaving the hammock behind and I pulled it off the bookshelf and asked you what it was…” Memory is peculiar for Astral. Confusing, almost. Past events recall for him in almost present time. A duel from five years ago, once recollected is remembered with perfect clarity. It can be difficult to separate the past from the present. Yuuma is a necessary anchor.

     “Oh, yeah. Man, I really miss that thing… Best sleep I ever got.” There’s no mistaking Yuuma’s wistful tone and soon they’re both stuck in a reminiscent daze. That is, until Astral shivers minutely under his blanket, a shadow crossing his mind and within a second Yuuma is crouched beside him. Big, clumsy hands hovering over his arms and legs.

     “Are you still cold? Should I get another layer? See- I told you to put your clothes back on when we got here but you wouldn’t listen to-”

     “Yuuma,” Astral interrupts gently. He takes one of Yuuma’s hands in his own and notes how small he feels in comparison. How thin and glass like even in his new body, “I prefer this.”

     The fire cracks cheerfully behind them and it might be seconds or minutes or hours before one of them breaks the spell.

     “So…” Yuuma clears his throat and pushes his bangs back (only to have them fall right back into his eyes) before scooting down to Astral’s injured feet. He gently pulls off the jellyfish patterned socks they had picked out on their first real outing together and takes one slender ankle in hand. The warm glow of the fire provides more than enough light for a quick examination, “How’re ya feelin’? Hurt at all? It should hurt a little or else you won’t learn your lesson...”

     Astral shakes his head slowly and feels his muscles tense involuntarily as Yuuma begins stroking a square thumb against the arch of his foot. It feels incredible in the feather soft way that pins his reflexes against his desire. When his foot jerks in Yuuma’s hand his partner pauses and meets his eyes.

     “It is nothing. I just-”

     “You said it yourself things feel different like this, right? It shouldn’t hurt though. It should feel like this...” Yuuma traces his fingers along the curves of Astral’s foot, his delicate ankle.

     “Fascinating…” Astral curls his fingers into the blanket, watching closely as Yuuma cups his heel and bends down to kiss shyly just below his knee, “Yuuma… Can you explain? I am experiencing-”

     “It’s probably something to do with uh- nerve endings? I dunno. You’re asking the wrong guy.” Yuuma spreads his free hand over the curve of Astral’s other thigh. Bold but shaking. It feels like hot iron against Astral’s perpetually cool skin.

     “Hm. You seem knowledgeable enough to me,” Astral hums, meeting Yuuma’s sudden stare with half a smile and a finely arched brow.

     “S-shut up…” Yuuma hesitates, he freezes. His eyes drop from Astral’s. This happens every time. It’s something they both want, something they’ve wanted long before is was even possible but now that it is, now that they’ve left their confusing, burdened, intangible adolescences behind... Taking the next step seems like a greater challenge than saving the world had. But that’s stupid. They’re partners. Yuuma can’t even remember what he was like before Astral forced his way into the picture, what a day would look like without his running commentary, his criticism, his wonder. It’s hard to admit but it’s his own cowardice that’s holding them back. Astral’s been ready. Why isn’t he?

     “Yuuma,” Astral says again, almost a whisper, almost nothing. He reaches out and touches Yuuma’s cheek with the backs of his long fingers, “What is it that you are you afraid of?”

     Yuuma exhales like he’s been holding his breath for minutes. To Astral’s surprise there is no sputtering defence. No high pitched, rambling excuse. No bravado. There is just the crackling of the fire, the singing of frogs and insects and the far off push of the tide under the waning moon. And then… honesty.

     “I think… I think I’m afraid of hurting you. Or messing something up- doing something stupid. It’s like- I love you and I want you, I think about it all the time but part of me wishes that… That you were still untouchable because at least then nothing could hurt you… I couldn’t hurt you. I mean, there’s so much we don’t know about you like… like this! I wouldn’t have even felt those little twigs and rocks that cut you up, Astral! You’re like paper! That doesn’t scare you...?”

     For what seems like an age there is nothing more said between them. Yuuma stares at his hands, Astral at the sky. Finally Astral folds his hands in his lap and directs his gaze to the man at his feet. There is a small part of him that finds a sort of thrill in his partners shaken state. It isn’t often that Astral gets to be the hero.

     “You’ve been so worried all this time.”

     “I don’t mean it li-”

     “Yuuma. Let me finish.” Astral smiles and Yuuma hangs on every serene word, “You still take on so much. You are strong but your shoulders are still too narrow for all of that weight alone. We are partners. Look at the things we have already overcome. That is why I am not afraid.”

     “Astral…” It doesn’t surprise either of them that Yuuma’s eyes are glassy, that his cheeks are damp, that his thick, dark eyelashes are sticking together and his breath hitches once or twice on a shaky exhale.

     “Let me ask you this,” Astral reaches down and wipes at Yuuma’s cheeks with a corner of the blanket. When it seems like Yuuma has blinked back his remaining tears Astral takes his chin between two slim fingers, “Do you trust me?”

     The response is automatic. Immediate. Unwavering.

     “Yes.”

     “Then take me into the tent. I am very curious about ‘nerve endings’.”


End file.
